If your parent council is currently using Facebook to connect to your school community don’t take a break once school is out for summer. Instead, take advantage of the summer break and use it to support your continued work on building Facebook connections with parents from your school community.
Here are some social media tips to use during this summer break:
Posting frequency and when is the best time to post?
Aim to post at the very least 2 to 3 times a week. If you get a good response from your school community via a lot of likes and/or shares you may want to increase the posting frequency for the week. As far as when to post each day and what days during the week, you may want to experiment with posting either later in the evening or mid morning. The same would go with what days to post. You may consider using Facebook insights to gain a better understanding of when your community is engaging with your posts. For advanced users, you may consider using Buffer to post your social media messages on Facebook. Over time Buffer will suggest the most optimal times of the day to be posting at.
How to post?
Mix up your posts throughout the week. Remember it is summer break so keep it light. Create a file for saving post ideas you have found. You can use this file as a reference throughout the summer.
What to post?
The key is to be helpful and engaging. This is the perfect time to break from the norm. Post items and resources that parents would find helpful over the summer break. Take advantage and showcase to your community that your group is a great resource to them. You can use this guide to help with your social media creation and posting.
Suggested Posts:
- Activities
Parents are usually scratching their heads asking what can I do with my kids next and keep them productive and entertained during the summer. Try posting at least once a week about fun activities. Best source I always suggest for finding a treasure trove of activities is on Pinterest. Trying do a search with keywords like “summer activities for kids” or “summer arts and crafts for kids”. When you see a pin you like, click on it to make sure the pin takes you to a legitimate website. Most websites will have a share button, make sure to share that page to Facebook as it should make things easier and will more than likely let you share an image along with the link. - Travel/Staycation Tips
Once again Pinterest will come in handy here. Try using the following searches: “traveling with kids” or “road trip with kids”. Another great resource is Google. Do a Google search for “travel tips for kids”,”Summer road trip ideas” or “staycation ideas”. You will find a ton of resources that feature ideas and hacks to make family vacations and staycations easier. Make sure to include these tips on your Facebook page throughout the summer. - Recipes
Summer is a great time to share summer treats that parents can make with their kids. Who doesn’t want to make a cool treat like homemade ice cream or a fun treat like Hot Dog Cups. Check out the many recipes from Buzzfeed Tasty videos. - Engaging posts/summer feedback
Ask your school community how their summer is going so far. Engage your community and ask questions such as what summer books are being read or favourite vacation spots so far. Ask your school community to share photos as well. Try this at least once a week. I would suggest posting on a Monday and ask your community how their previous week has gone. Remember to add positive comments when parents share. Don’t forget to share photos of your own (If you don’t have your own photos trying sharing photos of recent town events). - Community information
Parents may get local news online and from newspapers, but it is always helpful to post about upcoming events for children. Include links, dates and times. Your best resources may include: local newspapers, your local city website and your local city tourism website. - School news
When news becomes available, post it! Your school community maybe awaiting the upcoming school year calendar with a list of P.A. days as well Christmas and March break dates. Even though your school will publish it, it never hurts to get it on your page as well. Make sure to check in with the principal to see if any important news will be coming this summer. Also check with the principal if there will be any changes to arrival or dismal procedures and/or changes to bus routes. - Parent Council news
As you get closer to the end of summer break, you may start to have parent council news to share with your school community. You may already have dates for for upcoming school events and school lunches. Remember to post them! If your group has other news make sure to let your school community know. - Inspirational quotes and humor:
Everyone loves a good chuckle or a great quote. Try posting a Monday motivational quote or a Funny Friday image. Try collecting fun and inspiring posts when you see them and save them to share at a later date (Add it to the file we suggested creating).
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